Draymond Green reveals the one NBA defender he would pick over himself

Draymond Green reveals the one NBA defender he would pick over himself originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Despite his advanced age, Golden State Warriors star forward Draymond Green still views himself as one of the absolute best defenders in the entire NBA.

In fact, there’s only one player in the league that Green views as a potentially better defender than himself: San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama, who is the runaway favorite to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award this season.

Draymond Green can't deny Victor Wembanyama's defensive impact

Green correctly thinks that Wembanyama is the most impactful defender in the league, but that’s where he draws the line.

"To sit and say today that my defense is more impactful than Victor Wembanyama's I think that would be a lie and I've never been one to not be honest," Green said during an appearance on ESPN. "So, I wouldn't put myself above him but I wouldn't put myself below anyone else."

Wembanyama has led the league in blocks in three straight seasons, and he would likely be on the verge of winning his second consecutive DPOY Award if he had been eligible last season, so it’s difficult to dispute his status as the league’s best defender.

During his ESPN appearance, Green described the difference between himself and Wembanyama as defenders.

"I'm a positional defender, so I'm not giving you your spots that you want to get to. I like to deter shots. I'm not Victor Wembanyama's height, right? So, I'm not going to block every shot. I want to get myself into a spot to where you can't even get to the shot. But I think that type of anticipation is sometimes tough to quantify.

“Well, when you look at a Victor Wembanyama, he is one that does that same thing but in a different way. Because all of a sudden a guy gets to the hole, whereas you usually just take that shot, you see a lot of times guys see him in the area they just dribble the ball out."

Green acknowledging that Wembanyama is likely a more impactful defender than him is a major sign of respect for the Spurs star, as it's certainly not something that has happened often, or ever, over the course of his career.

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